What have you done to your XS today?

[bosco659]

Did a bit more on the bike today. Drained the fuel and will top it back up with fresh treated gas. I also decided to clean the chain and I’m glad I did. Check out the before and after as well as the grunge that was washed off. What really surprised my was when I reinstalled it (without moving the axle), I gained at least 3/4” of vertical travel (chain slack). That dirty chain must have been binding up. While I had the side cover off, inspection of the clutch pushrod tells me it’s time to replace that too.

 

[bosco659]

Remade the center stand stop using part of a vibration isolator I had in stock. I was going to use a bicycle brake pad as suggested, but found this in “inventory”. Using my drill and angle grinder I reshaped the rubber stop and metal mount. Works well. The angled bracket bolts into the back of the slotted muffler mount.

 

[5twins]

Mmmmm, the flap disc, one of my favorite grinder wheels, lol. Try the blue colored ones, they're better.

 

[bazz]

I've been wiring my chop for a while and today I got everything working
Not finished but working
Most of it is held together with wagos
I can highly recommend these for hooking wiring together to check everything works before hard wiring

 

[bosco659]

Mmmmm, the flap disc, one of my favorite grinder wheels, lol. Try the blue colored ones, they're better.

Yes the blue ones are better but I need to use up my existing inventory first. Seem like I don’t go through many of these - a good thing. I know the blue flap discs are costly.

 

[5twins]

Not really, they're all over eBay for cheap.

 

[atom4488]

I've been wiring my chop for a while and today I got everything working
Not finished but working
Most of it is held together with wagos
I can highly recommend these for hooking wiring together to check everything works before hard wiring

Agree on the Wagos...had never seen one until I bought my SG. The PO had used them in a number of places. Had to research them, only to find out they're on the shelf at HD in the States. Not so in Canada.

 

[bosco659]

Not really, they're all over eBay for cheap.

Back in my past life, our business used to buy a ton of abrasive discs. It’s there that I learned that all discs are not created equal. Chinese stuff would only last a fraction of the time that the “good stuff” would. For dyi and backyard mechanics, the eBay and Amazon stuff will be fine but for industrial use, I would only buy recognized brands eg. 3M, Walter, Norton (a few that come to mind).

 

[atom4488]

Back in my past life, our business used to buy a ton of abrasive discs. It’s there that I learned that all discs are not created equal. Chinese stuff would only last a fraction of the time that the “good stuff” would. For dyi and backyard mechanics, the eBay and Amazon stuff will be fine but for industrial use, I would only buy recognized brands eg. 3M, Walter, Norton (a few that come to mind).

... back in my past life, my business used large-diameter abrasive cut-off wheels as well as smaller grinding and sanding discs. I found that it was false economy to buy cheap abrasives, as they just did not last and had a tendency to overheat and smear rather than cut. My welding supplier sold the good stuff at not that much of a premium over the low-end products. I still buy from them when the need arises, which is obviously much less frequent in my current non-production environment.

 

[atom4488]

My 650 D saw little to no riding this year, as my SG and XT kept me in the saddle all season without much fuss. I did pull the 650 D out of its storage spot, gave the battery a charge and started it up. A little choke to start then it immediately settled into a quiet steady idle, with everything functional electrically. Satisfying!

 

[John Regular]

I've been wiring my chop for a while and today I got everything working
Not finished but working
Most of it is held together with wagos
I can highly recommend these for hooking wiring together to check everything works before hard wiring

WTF!!! I could have used those earlier on my build and avoided lots of dropped connectors, curse words and thrown tools.

 

[bazz]

Back in my past life, our business used to buy a ton of abrasive discs. It’s there that I learned that all discs are not created equal. Chinese stuff would only last a fraction of the time that the “good stuff” would. For dyi and backyard mechanics, the eBay and Amazon stuff will be fine but for industrial use, I would only buy recognized brands eg. 3M, Walter, Norton (a few that come to mind).

Best ones I have ever used were the Bosch own brand

 

[Franksx]

Today I stripped the paint from a gas tank for my Yamaha XS2 650. It's a tank from a Special, but that's what came on the bike. I take it that Standard tanks are hard to come by. The trick is cling wrap to keep the stripper from drying out and losing its effectiveness, and warmth to invigorate the chemical reaction. I set up a heat lamp over the work surface. Tomorrow I'll clean up the tank with more stripper and steel wool. Pics tomorrow. Any tips for pre-paint prep?

 

[46th Georgia]

Today I stripped the paint from a gas tank for my Yamaha XS2 650. It's a tank from a Special, but that's what came on the bike. I take it that Standard tanks are hard to come by. The trick is cling wrap to keep the stripper from drying out and losing its effectiveness, and warmth to invigorate the chemical reaction. I set up a heat lamp over the work surface. Tomorrow I'll clean up the tank with more stripper and steel wool. Pics tomorrow. Any tips for pre-paint prep?

After you've neutralized it with water and dried it well, I would scrub it with some wax and grease remover and a red Scotch Brite, then dry it again. What are you painting it with?

 

[Its been a long time]

A little Christmas treat for the 650 arrived this morning.

 

[Franksx]

Don't think I'll paint the tank until Spring when temperatures warm up. Will leave it bare (oiled) metal like I've done with a previously owned (now sold) bike.
Stripping in the cellar.



Naked.

 

[zrx1100]

Upgraded my suspension

 

[SolidGhost]

New (to me) Webco style bars from Front Street Cycle. I like the gentle angle on the wrist and they’re a great height. I first put Biltwell Trackers on but they’re pretty run of the mill and these really add som style to the bike, in my opinion. It’s the little things.

 

[bosco659]

There’s basically three projects to work on over the winter: Supra; beetle engine and XS to do list. I rearranged the garage and the XS is now on the operating table. On the to do list wad fork seal replacement. The tubes and seals were new from the p.o. but after a day of riding in hot weather, there’s usually a ring of oil above the dust boot. I figured I should replace them this winter.

The front end is stripped and the front wheel is bare so I can have spoke tension and trueness checked. I’d also like to have the rotors resurfaced too. Oil is being drained as I post this and I should have new seals (bought those 3 years ago) in by the end of the day. The whole process seems to be pretty straight forward. The fork oil looks nasty and I’ll replace it with 10W that I have in stock. More pics tonight.

 

[bosco659]

More pics but hit a snag trying to get the damper out. So far it’s unwilling to let go of the retaining bolt that I believe the po must have used red Loctite. I’ll make a proper tool and get it out tomorrow (fingers crossed).